Sorry I haven’t been on in like 10 days but I just haven’t been feeling like blogging lately.

It’s not that I don’t have material to share, I certainly do.

I just haven’t been feeling like writing it all down.

But it’s time to get back to it 🙂

SO here we have deconstructed chicken pot pie 🙂

This recipe is super easy to make, like OMG ridiculously easy and soo very tasty!

And instead of using pie dough I used biscuits. Why? Because I hate pie dough! I’ve had a handful of terrifying experiences with it and since I’m not ready to face my fears yet I just try to avoid it as much as possible.

I had some leftover honey biscuits from when I made the beef stew so I decided to use them in this and it definitely turned out fab!

The filling is creamy and rich, with lots of chicken (yum!), peas and I love the addition of corn, top it with a honey biscuit and you have a perfect weekday meal straight from Comfortown 🙂

Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

10 baby carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

2 tbsp light butter

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 cup skim milk

1 1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth

1/4 tsp dried basil

2 cups cooked and shredded chicken

1/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup frozen corn, thawed

4 Grands! honey biscuits

serve: chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a pot over medium high heat, add the EVOO.

Once hot add the onion and carrots.

Cook until softened and onions are translucent about 5 mins.

Add the garlic and saute for 30 secs.

Remove to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium and add butter.

Once melted, stir in the flour.

Cook for 1 min, stirring frequently.

Whisk in the milk, broth and basil and continue whisking to break up any lumps.

Let the sauce simmer and thicken (about 1-2 mins).

Turn the heat off and add in the vegetables, chicken, peas and carrots.

If the filling is too thick add in a little more chicken broth.

Spray a 2qt baking dish with cooking spray.

transfer the filling to the baking dish and top with the biscuits.

Bake for 20-25 mins or until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through*.

Serve with chopped parsley.

*Check the package directions on the biscuits you are using to check for cooking time and temperatures.

So my sister was having a slumber party at my house a few weeks ago and I wanted to make a totally adorable dessert for the girls to enjoy.

So after a girl in my Bunco group made a strawberry lemonade cake that I couldn’t get enough of and fell totally in love with it I knew that was the perfect dessert for the girls, but in a cupcake form of course:) I mean the cupcakes are pink! PINK! What teenage girl (or me) doesn’t love pink? And sprinkles?

Sign me up!

So off I went on Pinterest to find the recipe and sure enough I had already pinned it 🙂 If you’ve looked at my boards you would know that I’m completely pin-obsessed!

And I totally cheated and used box mix.

Sue me now.

I personally have nothing against box mixes.

Nothing.

They are cheap, easy and convenient. I know as a foodie I should be completely repulsed by them, but why when they make life so much easier. Especially when you are short on time, no measuring of ingredients involved, no sifting just combine the mix with some eggs and oil, bake and enjoy 🙂

And I was impressed with how tasty the cupcake actually was! Very light and moist 🙂

And the frosting is a simple cream cheese/cool whip based frosting that takes 5mins to whip up! And I love the lemonade frosting! The sweetness of the strawberry cupcake and the tangyness of the lemonade frosting compliment each other perfectly 🙂

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Ingredients:

strawberry lemonade cake mix (and any extra ingredients needed)

8 oz cream cheese, softened

0.23oz packet Kool-Aid Lemonade

yellow food coloring gel(until desired color is reached)

2 cups marshmallow creme

8 oz cool whip topping

sprinkles for garnish

Directions:

Make the cupcakes according to box directions.

Let them cool completely before frosting.

In the bowl of electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, kool-aid and food coloring until smooth.

Well this doesn’t have any potatoes in it, but the buttery honey biscuits are definitely a fabulous trade-off 🙂

This meal was soo comforting!

The beef was just soo tender, melt-in-your-mouth!

The gravy was thick and luscious and I love how the balsamic and red wine vinegar give it a really nice tang.

The carrots are the veggie component and adding them towards the end of cooking time makes them slightly tender yet crunchy.

And then all served on a biscuit…

Perfect winter (or any season really!) meal 🙂

And it only requires 1 pot, 10 minutes of prep and it’s even better the next day!

You want to make sure you have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day 🙂

I found this recipe on Pinterest and even though I adapted it to suit my taste, I served it over Grands! Honey biscuits recommended by Bree 🙂 Definitely a great choice! The biscuits were buttery and slightly sweet which balanced the tangyness of the stew beautifully 🙂 Thanks Bree!

Balsamic Beef Stew

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb beef chuck, fat trimmed and cut into bite size pieces (I used beef for soup because that’s what I had in my freezer and it worked great!)

2 tbsp flour

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

3 tbsp canola oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 1/2 cups beef broth

10 baby carrots

2 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp water

3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

To serve: baked biscuits and chopped parsley

Directions:

In a large zip lock bag add the beef, flour, salt and pepper and shake to coat.

In a dutch oven heat to medium high heat and add oil.

Once hot, brown the meat on all sides (do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot).

Remove the meat to a plate.

Add the diced onions to the dutch oven(add a little more oil if needed) and cook until translucent (about 5mins).

Add garlic and cook for 30secs.

Add the beef, bay leaves, rosemary, thyme and beef broth to the pot and bring to a simmer.

Reduce to heat to low and cook (covered) for 2 hours or until beef is fork tender.

I just don’t really like starting my day off with a heavy, buttery and about a days worth of calories consumed all in one meal.

If I do, I know I’m pretty much not going to achieve anything that day because after a big breakfast all I feel like doing is taking a looong nap.

Or crashing on the couch and watching Grey’s Anatomy.

Or crashing on my bed with a Stephanie Laurens book.

But besides that I totally dig breakfast food.

Like breakfast for dinner – I’m soo down!

And french toast is probably one of my biggest weaknesses.

Besides crepes of course, I’m European after all!

But this french toast…ohmygoodness…

Where have you been all my life?

And I actually ate it for breakfast…

The angel food cake is soo light and fluffy and slightly crunchy, the strawberry sauce is sweet and a little tangy from the lemon juice and then top it off with some cool whip and you have some of the yummiest french toast ever.

Best thing is that although its filling and totally indulging I didn’t feel like I was in a food coma after eating it 🙂 the angel food cake was a great choice in my opinion but pound cake would be really good too!

Make this for breakfast or dinner I know you’ll love it 🙂

Strawberry Shortcake French Toast

Serves: 5

For angel french toast:

5 slices 1 in thick angel food cake

3 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

butter for frying

Directions:

In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla.

In a large saucepan over medium hear, melt a little bit of butter.

Dip the angel food cake slices into the egg batter, then fry in the skillet until golden brown on each side.

Repeat with all the slices of angel food cake.

Keep warm while preparing the strawberry sauce.

Strawberry Sauce:

10 strawberries, chopped

1/2 small lemon, juiced

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat combine all the ingredients and let them cook, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries have softened and have released their natural juices (about 5mins).

To serve:

1 recipe angel french toast

1 recipe strawberry sauce

cool whip

Directions:

Place a slice of angel french toast on a plate, top with some of the strawberry sauce and top with a large dollop of cool whip.